“I thought he paid attention. His attention to detail in our walkthrough, conversations and scouting was much better,” Miller said Friday. “He played really well.”

With a top-5 team in town this weekend, can he do it again?

Green, like Indiana, has struggled for consistency this season.

At his best, he is what he was against the Buckeyes — aggressive, quick and dangerous. At this worst, Green has struggled with turnovers and focus defensively. Just two days before his season-best scoring performance in Columbus, he managed only four minutes and did not score at all in a tight loss to rival Purdue.

“I’ve just got to come out ready off the bench, stay engaged in the game while watching,” Green said Tuesday.

Some of Green’s best games have been in some of Indiana’s best wins. He scored 12 points against Iowa, 12 against Notre Dame and 13 against Penn State. Double-figure scoring performances at Seton Hall and Tuesday night at Ohio State helped keep the Hoosiers from being routed.

He’s also had performances like Purdue, when his impact has been subdued at both ends. And, like many of his teammates, he’s seen a significant drop in 3-point accuracy, from 43.6 percent last year to 30.1 percent now.

Yet as the Hoosiers prepare for No. 4 Michigan State on Saturday night, Green’s midweek performance offers a flicker of optimism.

Indiana has searched all season for, among other things, a third scorer to complement Juwan Morgan (16.3 points per game) and Robert Johnson (13.4 ppg). Green is currently fifth among Hoosiers, averaging 7.3 points per. But he has scored freely in bursts, and only needed an efficient 10 field goal attempts to get his 20 points in Columbus.

“I think I just got a little bit of a hot streak,” Green said, “was feeling it a little bit and was making shots.”

Green is starting to see more minutes, even factoring in his brief cameo versus Purdue. He played 27 at Illinois and 30 more against Ohio State.

Tuesday’s performance, according to both Green and Miller, was a product of responding well to Purdue, and making the most of Indiana’s quick turnaround between games.

“I just stuck with it, I would say,” Green said. “Came to practice and competed really hard.”

His next challenge is one that has tripped up numerous Hoosiers all season long.

Morgan has excelled, becoming one of the Big Ten’s biggest surprises, and IU’s leading scorer and rebounder. Though Johnson struggled at Ohio State, scoring just two points on six shots in Columbus, he has broadly been a consistent performer at both ends of the floor for more than a month now. He was arguably Indiana’s best player against Purdue.

There remains, however, a distinct feeling the Hoosiers need one more established threat, particularly at the offensive end.

“We're searching for consistency,” Miller said. “I think Devonte had a really good approach coming off of the Purdue game, where he didn't play as much. He took advantage of the opportunity.”